Culpeper Amateur Radio Association (CARA)

CARA is an ARRL affiliated organization. The CARA membership is made up of avid amateur radio operators who reside mostly in west central Virginia, in the area of Culpeper County. The members of CARA participate in all aspects of the amateur radio service. Our members are involved in casual QSOs on all HF, VHF and UHF bands as well as the high anxiety pace of contesting on RTTY, CW, SSB and all digital formats. CARA members are also heavily involved in emergency communications (ARES/RACES of VA) services, and the ARRL Field Day. If it is fun, or if it is a service to the local jurisdictions, CARA is there.

The CARA is structured to support membership growth by staying involved in as many activities as we can reasonably undertake. Providing the membership with opportunities to participate, learn and help each other has been a key to our membership satisfaction and growth. All amateurs near and far are welcome to join us. The CARA members are dedicated to supporting the local communities by providing recreational as well as emergency communications services. We currently support three counties surrounding Culpeper, and we actively participate with the state wide disaster preparation exercises by way of the Orange County Emergency Operations Center.

The members of CARA are creatively involved in mentoring, training and being an “Elmer” to any individual interested in getting their “Ham License.” They also enjoy helping others, young or senior, experienced or not to learn something new.

The CARA meetings are the 3rd Monday of every month in Culpeper at 7:30PM. The address is:

Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church
115 North East St
Culpeper, VA 22701

Repeater Information

CARA is most notably known for the W4CUL repeater, and K3VB a 220mhz repeater. An Echolink node is tied in to the W4CUL 220mhz Repeater which is managed and maintained by KO2F.